Grade indicator



June 30,? 1936. J. w. CAVENDE GRADE1 INDICATOR Filed t. 12, 1954- J. WCavelzder Patented June 30, 1 936 1 UNITED STATES d PATENT oFFlcs GRADE Innrcn'ron .101m w. oavenaer, Placerville, one.. application october 1a 193i, serial No. "nains 4a claims. (erts- 215i i' This invention relates to indicators and is particularly directed to that character of instrument for motor vehicles known as grade indicators or gradometers.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a grade indicator of this general character ladapted'to be mountedion the instrument panel of a motor vehicle which will instantly and correctly indicate the per cent of grade which the vehicle `may be traversing at any given moment.

A further object of my inventioh is to provide a grade indicator having an adjustable mounting means for the casing of the indicator arranged so that the scale on the casing may be initially set in a proper position relative to the pointer irrespective of the angle oi slope oi' the instrument panel and against which the indicator casing is disposed.

The main advantages of my improved grade A indicator are many, some of the more important advantages being as, follows:

The use of my grade indicator on a motor vehicle will inform the driver at a glance the per cent ofgrade and is especially oivalue when traversing unfamiliar roads, as in the mountains,

and when the vehicle is traveling down a steep grade for instance. The condition oi such grade is then instantly made known to the driver, who can at once slow down the vehicle in order to prevent taking unnecessary chances and the possibility of accidents.

.also on curved'or mountain roads, especially at night, the percent of a down grade is deceiving and without a grade indicator accidents and Aloss of life often occur, especially on roads unfamiliar' to the driver. When an upgrade nis being negotiated the driver often fails to realize the severity of the grade and overloads the engine and forces thecar along in high gear. At the same time he wonders why the car has apparently lost a great deal oi its power and is apt to blame this supposed condition on poor carburetion or on faulty timing or other ignition troubles, when in reality, if the driver had a grade indicator before him, he would know that the diiculty arose only as the result oi' the lsteep grade. Much damage to motors and inervous strains on the drivers would be avoided if the vehicles were provided with my grade indicators and the drivers would shift into second gear when knowing' definitely that a heavy grade was being negotiated. The chief 'value ofthe device therefore is in the savingl it will effect lin the protection of life and property, besides reducing what are actually unnecessary repair bills dueV to overloading of motors while ascending, and burned oui-l brakes and overturned cars while descending unfamiliar hills..

A further object vof the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one 5 which Willbe exceedingiyedective for the purpose for which' it is designed. Y

These objects accomplish by means oisuch structure and relative arrangement of parts' as will fully appear by a perusal oi the following io specicaiton and claims.

In the drawing similar characters oi reference indicate corresponding partsin the several views:

Fis. l is a side elevation partly broken out of my improved grade indicator as mounted on an 15 instrument panel. v

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same showing the grade indicating scale.

' Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section of the' grade` indicator. v 1

Referring now more particularly to the characters oi reference on the drawing, the body of the indicator comprises a dust-prooi cylindrical case preferably of sheet metal and having side walls -i connected by a peripheral wall 25 2, the casing being disposed so that its s is horizontal and entends transversely of the vehicle.

Projecting centrally and axially through the side walls or" the case is a spindle bolt 3' having 80 a head il on one end outwardly of the casing and a castle nut t adjustably secured on its other end and held against rotation hy a cotter pin Rotatably mounted on the spindle within the 85S case is a hub i. This huh is mounted on a roller, bearing t engaging the spindle and is disposed between a pair of thrust ball bearings @which are also mounted on the spindle i. The thrust bearings and hub nt. snugly between the side t0 walls oi the casing, the nut being tightened up to pull the opposed Walls of the casing together just sumcient to providethe desired free rotation ci the hub without any loose play.

Formed rigid with and extending diametrically' 45 lfrom ythe hub are opposed vertically thin but transversely wide :dat arms iii and 00a, which' are duplicates or each other so that their weights balance. l

The arm `iti serves as the grade indicating pointer.` Depending radially from the hub in a vertical plane centrally between the arms, but in 4the same transverse plane is a pendulum-like weight il. ut in the peripheral wall '2 of the case is a rectangular window I2 of predetermined 55 arcuate extent which is backed by a transparent curved pane Il which is lpreferably glass. Marked on said pane transversely thereof and in a suitable distinctive color are lines Il denoting grade percentages. 'Ihese percentages read of course in both directionsup and down from a common zero mark to any desired maximum, such as thirty per cent.

To mount the casing in rigid connection with` The instrument panel P is provided with an opening O as large and which registers with the window i2 in the indicator case. 'Ihe opening O in the panel is `provided with inwardly projecting flanges i9 all about the same forming a saddle against which the adjacent portion of the case bears and against'whlch it is held by means of the sleeves and draw bolts.

The above described supporting structure makes it possible to correctly adjust and mount the grade indicator relative to the instrumentpanel regardless of the slope of said panel within certain limits, so that the zero mark on the scale pane may be initially alined with the always horizontal pointer. This alining is of course done when installing the indicator on a vehicle, and when vthe vehicle is on a level surfaoe, in order to subsequently obtain accurate readings.

It the panel is vertical for instance instead of having the slope shown (a condition which would lower the zero mark on the scale pane relative to the pointer if the pane remained centered in the panel opening) the lower bolt and sleeve unit i6`|1 is contracted while the upper unit is correspondingly extended.. I'his causes the casing to be rotated so that the scale pane is raised in the opening-an operation which is continued until the zero mark accurately alines with the pointer. J If on the other hand the panel slope is greater than that shown (and which is presumed'to be the averagel the upper bolt unit iscontracted and the lower unit is extended to rotate the case they necessary amount in a scale lowering direction.

In use the grade indicator is vmounted and ad- Justed as heretofore described, behind the intrument panel of the vehicle. 'Then as the vehicle travels over roads in hilly or mountainous country the -pendulum-like weight Il will by gravity maintain the balancing arms Hi and Ilia in a horizontal plane. The cylindrical case however being secured to the vehicle itself will in effect rotate about its axis, thereby shifting the graduated scale pane up orl down. This of course will cause the pointer arm Ill to indicate on the scale the exact percentage of grade being traversed. The scale being in a distinctive color is readily visible to the driver and he can ascertain 10 the percentage of Igrade by merely glancing at the scale for a moment. -The accuracy and sensitivity of the device is assured by reason of the antlfriction mounting of the pointer, since the roller bearing insures easy rotation of the pointer, while the thrust bearings prevent any possiblejamming of the pointer when the vehicle is tilted laterally somewhat as when rounding a sharp curve.

From the foregoing description it willbe readily seen that IA have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the `invention 'as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A grade indicator for a motor vehicle cornprising a cylindrical case adapted to be disposed with its axis extending transversely of the vehicle, a transparent graduated scale-plane forming part of the periphery of the case and extending from above to below the horizontal central plane thereof, a horizontal counterbalanced pointer plvoted `in the case axially thereof and reading directly against the graduated pane, a fixed open saddle following the contour of and engaging the periphery of the case to the sides of said pane, 'and means mounted in connection with thesaddle and with the case to clamp the latter in the saddle and rotatably adjust the case relative to the saddle.

2. A structure as in claim 1, in which said means comprises tapped sleeves mounted at one end on the periphery of the case above and below the pane for swivel movement about axes parallel to the axis of the case, said sleeves projecting in a substantially horizontal direction toward the -front of the saddle, and elements mounted in JOHN CAVENDER. 

